This invention relates to a cooking burner, and more particularly to a cooking burner wherein heat and exhaust gas produced by combustion of heat source such as fuel oil, fuel gas or the like are subject to heat exchange in a heat exchanger and heat obtained in the heat exchanger is selectively used for cooking and space heating as desired.
Conventionally, an open fire type cooking range or burner has been used to apply a flame directly to a food for cooking. Other than such an open fire type cooking burner, a gas cooking range or burner is proposed as disclosed in Japanese utility Model Publication No. 25561/1971, which is so constructed that a top plate made of a ceramic material is arranged on an upper surface of a box having an infrared burner body received therein, to thereby apply heat indirectly to a food for cooking. Another cooking oven or burner of the non-open fire type is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 31814/1975, which includes a hot plate arranged above a burner body and a cooking plate made of a pottery material and arranged above the hot plate. Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50620/1978 discloses a further cooking burner of the non-open fire type, which includes a burner body arranged in a combustion chamber and a heat-permeable plate made of a transparent glass ceramic material and arranged above the combustion chamber. The conventional non-open fire type cooking ranges or burners thus proposed each are adapted to carry out cooking by radiation and discharge exhaust gas produced by combustion to a room in which the burner is placed.
Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 40936/1990 discloses a stove for both cooking and space heating, which is so constructed that combustion gas produced in a heating chamber above a burner body is discharged to an ambient atmosphere and air is introduced between a heating plate arranged in the heating chamber and a cover overlying the heating plate, resulting in carrying out space heating as well as cooking.
The assignee proposed cooking burners of the combustion-exhaust type in both Japanese Utility Model Application No. 64978/1989 and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 20193/1990. The former is adapted to carry out cooking on an upper plate defining a hot gas passage and the latter includes in addition to the construction of the former, a convection fan for applying air to remaining heat to form hot air, which is then forcibly blown out. The proposed cooking burners are suitable for cooking and space heating in a relatively small living space such as a sailing boat, a power boat, a camping car, a camping tent or the like.
In a cooking burner of the outdoor exhaust type used in a relatively small living space such as a sailing boat, a camping car or the like, it is generally required to provide satisfactory airtightness or gastightness between a metal side plate for a combustion chamber and a non-metal upper plate of the combustion chamber which is sufficient to prevent leakage of combustion gas or exhaust gas. Also, the upper plate of he combustion chamber which is made of a non-metal material fails to exhibit sufficient resistance to shock.
Further, a cooking range or burner is generally increased in manufacturing cost because various kinds of electric and electronic parts are incorporated therein. Therefore, it is highly desired that the cooking burner is multipurpose. Also, when the cooking burner is used in a relatively small space, it is required to prevent odor, exhaust gas and heat from being accumulated in the space.